- Area:
- Scotland
- Programme:
- Investing in Ideas
- Release date:
- 15 2 2012
Piloting a new charity shop in Aberdeen, assessing options for affordable housing in Argyll and Bute and trialling new technology to help people with learning disabilities live independently in North Lanarkshire are amongst ten big ideas being backed by the latest grants from the Big Lottery Fund.
The awards totalling £87,570 are being made through BIG’s Investing in Ideas programme which provides grants of between £500 and £10,000 to test and develop ideas that could eventually become fully fledged projects. The scheme can fun a wide variety of activities including market research, public consultations and feasibility studies.
Home Start Aberdeen today receives £10,000 to pilot a new charity shop which will provide training and volunteering opportunities for local people. The grant will enable the group to run the shop for six months until it has become self sustaining. It is hoped that the shop will generate sufficient income to sustain and support the group’s work with Home -Start families.
Development Coll Ltd will investigate options for affordable housing on the Hebridean island of Coll, thanks to an award of £2,850. The group will consult with local people to determine local housing needs, and will assess current housing stock and options to meet these needs. The grant will fund a community engagement event and a housing survey.
Helping people with learning disabilities to live independently is the focus of £10,000 award to Support for Ordinary Living (SOL). The charity, based in Motherwell, will use the grant to trial new assistive technology to create a flexible and adaptable support service for 30 of their customers who have learning disabilities. This will empower individuals to communicate with family, friends, and others in their community using a simple touch screen device.
A Big Lottery Fund spokesperson, said: “It can often be challenging for groups to get their projects off the starting blocks but thanks to Investing in Ideas we can offer support at that early stage to help them establish if their project idea is feasible and will deliver change in the longer term. We wish all of today's winning projects the greatest of success as they turn their project ideas into reality.”
Other groups benefiting from today’s Investing in Ideas awards include the Buchan Development Partnership which receives £9,984 to consult with local people on the development of new community allotments. The Elderpark Housing Association in Govan receives £8,000 to investigate the idea of developing The Elderpark Centre into a community asset, to be run by and for local residents.
Investing in Ideas awards grants of between £500 and £10,000 and can pay for a wide variety of activities including market research, public consultations and feasibility studies. A range of organisations can apply, including voluntary and community sector groups, social enterprises, charities, local authorities and health bodies. For more information on the programme and how to apply visit: www.biglotteryfund.org.uk/investinginideas.
Other groups receiving Investing in Ideas grants today:
Boroughmuir Basketball Club
Award £8,425
This group will engage with the local community to look at options for turning Crags Sports Centre in Edinburgh into a centre for basketball development, and a wider community health initiative.
Voluntary Sector Gateway West Lothian
Award - £10,000
This group will engage the services of a consultant, who will train local volunteers to undertake a community survey. The project will help the group explore the possibility of managing a building as a third sector resource through a trading arm.
Mull and Iona Community Trust
Award - £9,071
This group plan to create a community owned and managed light industrial park in Tobermory providing affordable units suitable for small businesses and self employed tradesmen. The group will investigate the feasibility of this idea and carry out a public consultation.
Fife Animal Trust
Award - £9,240
This group will explore the idea of developing part of its land to broaden its social remit, and provide more opportunities for volunteering. The project will involve a feasibility study, technical study and quantity surveyor.
Huntly Development Trust
Award - £10,000
This group will explore the possibility of purchasing a building in the town to develop as a community resource. The grant for will pay for architect fees, building surveyor, quantity surveyor, and business planning/market research.
Further Information
Big Lottery Fund Press Office
0141 242 1458 or 07789 033457
BIG advice line: 0300 123 7110
Textphone: 0845 6021 659
Full details of the Big Lottery Fund programmes and grant awards are available on the website: www.biglotteryfund.org.uk
Notes to Editors
- The Big Lottery Fund (BIG), the largest distributor of National Lottery good cause funding, is responsible for giving out 46% of the money raised for good causes by the National Lottery.
- BIG is committed to bringing real improvements to communities and the lives of people most in need and has been rolling out grants to health, education, environment and charitable causes across the UK since June 2004. The Fund was formally established by Parliament on 1 December 2006.
- Since the National Lottery began in 1994, 28p from every pound spent by the public has gone to good causes. As a result, over £26 billion has now been raised and more than 330,000 grants awarded across arts, sport, heritage, charities, health, education and the environment.
- The Scotland Committee, led by Chair, Maureen McGinn, has been making Big Lottery Fund decisions on Scottish projects since March 2007. As well as taking devolved decisions on Lottery spending, the Committee has and will continue to play a strategic role in the future direction of BIG in Scotland.
- The Big Lottery Fund is investing in Scotland’s communities through its Investing in Communities portfolio as well as the small grants schemes Awards for All and 2014 Communities.
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